Cristina Odone is a journalist, novelist and broadcaster specialising in the relationship between society, families and faith. She is the director of communications for the Legatum institute and is a former editor of the Catholic Herald and deputy editor of the New Statesman. She is married and lives in west London with her husband, two stepsons and a daughter. Her new ebook No God Zone is now available on Kindle.

As the Jimmy Savile revelations tear the BBC apart, the Corporation no longer feels like our very own 'Auntie'

It now looks like Newsnight was forced to scrap its investigation into Jimmy Savile because of pressure from senior BBC managers. Ironically, it took another BBC flagship programme, Panorama, to unearth this explosive. Talk about being hoist by your own petard: when it comes to self-flagellation, the Corporation could win an Olympic medal.

A very public, excruciating mea culpa like the Beeb's sounds refreshing when compared to the way Government departments react when caught out: the Whitehall tendency is to conceal, find a scapegoat, or move the official(s) in charge. Think of the great West Coast Mainline fiasco: Theresa Villiers and Justine Greening were moved from the Department of Transport after having botched the franchise bidding. That is damage limitation, Coalition-style.

The BBC instead doesn't even attempt to take cover. In fact, it is very publicly writhing in agony,and even its stars like Esther Rantzen admit to feeling guilt and shame. Who can blame them, when we are discovering, piecemeal, that this once-loved institution was behaving like the most vilified government department, engaged in cover-ups and double-speak for decades.

It makes for a disturbing spectacle: even its critics, who view the Corporation as the personification of the liberal establishment, know it as "Auntie" – we don't always agree with its stance, but we acknowledge there is much to cherish, and continue to support her (literally, given the licence fee). No government department could ever hope to mean, for the average Briton, what Auntie did: the BBC was the voice of Britain abroad, the vehicle for the nation's PR, the source of information for everyone from the lowest immigrant here to the most oppressed foreigner abroad. Viewers and listeners felt an allegiance to the Beeb they would never feel for any government. It was ours, and for us.